As increasingly more opinions on whether to use AI or not in one's job search surface, I'm finding that job-search pundits are coming up with creative, yet ethical ways, to use large language models to help their clients.

I'm also finding that despite what many people think about the use of AI in the job search, hiring authorities aren't as hellbent on job seekers not using LLM tools, as long as they aren't using them irresponsibly.

So, what we have today are two sides of the coin: how career coaches and resume writers, as well as recruiters feel about the use of AI in the job search. It's not whether LLMs should be used, it's how they should be used.

For this article, we're going to focus on three areas--company research, resume writing, and interviewing--where job seekers can use LLM tools to gain help in their journey to land jobs.

Researching companies of interest

Gina Riley is an executive coach and author of Qualified Isn't Enough. She sees great value in using AI to research companies and attests that her clients don't land interviews by applying online. No, they develop lists of 30-40 target companies that match their strengths, values, and interests and focus their energy on researching those companies.

Gina writes: "AI can surface strategy, structure, leadership, news, financials, and recent signals in minutes. But the advantage isn’t the information itself, it’s what you do with it. Strong candidates translate that insight into a clear point of view: where they can create value, what problems they’re equipped to solve, and how their experience connects to what the company is navigating right now. That’s the shift from passive applicant to intentional operator.

"This is where the work ties directly to becoming a R.A.R.E. Candidate™. The research the foundation for relevance, alignment, and execution in conversations and interviews. Candidates use what they’ve learned to identify key stakeholders, initiate focused outreach, and pre-wire opportunities before roles are ever posted. When they enter an interview process, they’re not answering questions in the abstract. They’re responding with context, specificity, and a clear throughline between their experience and the company’s priorities.

"AI can accelerate the front end of this work. But it’s your ability to interpret, position, and communicate that ultimately sets you apart."

Resumes/LinkedIn profiles

Take resume and LinkedIn profile enhancements, for example, we don't suggest you use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or the like to write it entirely from scratch. But to take a strong resume and ask one of them to suggest skills to add based on a job description--yes, you will tailor your resume to each job, and no, you won't submit a resume that looks like "word salad." But to tastefully apply missing skills, which you possess, to your resume is perfectly fine.

Or if you are having a hard time writing accomplishment statements, LLMs can suggest ways to see them as accomplishment statements and write one or two of them for you. Of course, you'll need to verify their validity in terms of accuracy. Most would agree that this is an ethical way of enhancing your resumes. The same applies to your LinkedIn profile About or Experience sections.

Here's the caveat: your documents mustn't look like every Tom, Dick, and Harry's resumes. Recruiters and other hiring authorities have the same complaint. They're receiving resumes that look the same, almost to the point of ridiculousness.

Steve Levy  is a technical recruiter who has seen his fair share to LLM-created resumes, and he's far from impressed by them. (Read his article, Your LLM Resume Isn't Helping, https://tinyurl.com/yeyu66rd.) However, he sees one way that job seekers can utilize AI in resume writing:

"If you use an LLM to partially write your résumé…This is where the tool earns its keep, he writes. "Use it like an editor, not an author.

"You provide the facts: What you built, the constraints, the stakes, the metrics, what broke, what you changed, what improved, and what you personally owned - then let it tighten language, kill repetiion, standardize structure, and give you a few variations by audience (IC vs. leadership, domain A vs. domain B). Take the snippets and wrap in it in your own words.

"This tends to improve both outcomes: You’re clearer in the screen, and you still sound like a human who did the work."

Using AI for interviews

Most people are now aware of how to use AI to prepare for interview questions. You feed a job description into an LMM like ChatGPT and ask it to come up with questions based on the JD. The questions Chat produces are pretty good, so we'd think. Interview coaches like Paula Christensen strive to prepare their clients beyond the LLM-produced questions; they also want to prepare themselves to make their meetings more efficient.

Paula writes: "I asked ChatGPT to create a quiz on the company and the role based on the job description. I'm using it to challenge myself to really understand the role before working with my client on interview coaching. It's a VP-level role in SaaS Cybersecurity.

"I intend to use some of these questions as a follow-up with my client, so THEY do a deep dive into the role. Some examples:

  1. What is the primary success metric for this role?
  2. When Company Name says they want XYZ what do they mean?
  3. Why is segmentation critical in this role?
  4. What problem does Company Name have, and why is it urgent right now?

These are just examples. It gave me multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, which were very insightful."

Any job candidate can ask an LLM to devise interview questions for themselves, but Paula wants to further educate herself to do a better job preparing her clients for interviews. As follow-up questions, I especially like the question about the problems the company is experiencing at the moment: read between the lines to identify the company's pain points.

Where using AI for interviews is unethical is having it help you answer questions in the interview. Dusty McNeal is a recruiter who has experienced this nefarious act.

"Proceed with caution," he warns about using AI in the interview process. "Prepare, sure. Rely on, no. During phone interviews, recruiters are listening for keyboard clicks. A long pause after a question followed by a scripted response is not ideal. It calls into question the candidates working knowledge or subject matter expertise.

With virtual interviews "wandering eyes" are often an indication that a candidate could be relying on a form of AI to assist them during the interview. We're seeking candidates that make eye contact and stay fully engaged."

At the end of the day, this really isn’t about whether you should use AI in your job search. That question is pretty much settled. The better question is: how are you using it? Because the job seekers who are getting traction aren’t handing over the keys to AI—they’re using it to sharpen what they already know. They’re doing the thinking, the reflecting, the connecting of the dots. AI just helps them move faster and see things they might’ve missed.

And that’s the difference. If your resume, your LinkedIn profile, or your interview answers sound like everyone else’s, that’s a problem. But if you’re using AI to tighten your message, deepen your research, and prepare with more intention—now you’re onto something. Bottom line: AI doesn’t replace you. It amplifies you…if you let it.

Related: Want Stronger Connections? Combine These Two Networking Approaches